From It to Carrie to The Shining: what makes Stephen King the Master of Horror
- Stephen King has been described as a pulp horror writer by some and a literary master by others
- We look at how he has created some of the most iconic stories and film adaptations in the genre and sold more than 350 million books
“The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years – if it ever did end – began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspapers floating down a gutter swollen with rain.”
This is how Stephen King began It, his 22nd novel, published in 1986. It’s a passage that exemplifies what King does best: instantly engrossing you in the horrific and unknown. And it’s this unique ability that has made him one of the bestselling writers of our time, selling more than 350 million copies worldwide and earning him the distinguished title of Master of Horror.
Yet, despite his success and popularity, King – whose latest book, The Institute, came out this week – is still a difficult writer to discuss among the literary circle. Once described by The New York Times as “a writer of fairly engaging and preposterous claptrap”, there has been a long-standing discussion on whether King’s works are really literature or just glorified pulp. Nonetheless, King has managed to create some of the most iconic and haunting stories ever to come out of the genre. Which raises the question: how does he do it?
Like any writer, King isn’t shy to share his sources of inspiration, most notably writers such as Richard Matheson of I Am Legend and Bram Stoker of Dracula. But perhaps the writer that most closely resembles his style is H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most influential writers in the horror genre. He single-handedly created a new subgenre known as cosmic horror, in which unknown cosmic entities and phenomena beyond our understanding, often portrayed as ancient, mythical monsters, became the subject of horror. But the monsters of Lovecraft were never really monsters.
Instead, they were metaphors that symbolised Lovecraft’s deep fear of the rapid technological and scientific advancements in the early 20th century. The helplessness he felt towards the changes around him reflected in the hopeless struggle of people against forces that are far beyond their control. Lovecraft believed that people’s inability to truly understand their reality was the most merciful thing in the world and that doing so would be enough to drive anyone to insanity.